A quick trip on the Tube to London Bridge, and looking up, and up, reveals the latest addition to the London skyline, the Shard. From the distance, it is a slender fingure of crystal light pointing to the heavens. It looks delicate and fragile and in certain lights, almost transparent. Up close, it is an amazing construction, of steel and glass, angles that catch different lights. It has different wall elements, not one sheer face. The photos hardly do it justice, photographers adopt very strange postures to capture the grand spectacle.I will report more on the building when I do the trip to the top.
London's skyline is an intriguing mixture of the very old - Tower Bridge, Tower of London, St Pauls, Old modern - all those tower blocks, Canary Wharf blocks, then you have the very new, and very edgy designs. The Gherkin broke all the rules, then the Shard has followed suit. There is a new developement being erected, at present known as the 'cheese grater' (see photo in next blog - Shard photos), and I am sure more will follow. But even with all the very different architecture styles, from past centuries to the present, it is not all jarring to the eye. They sit side by side - somethings get very hidden. The monument to the great fire of London is virtually hidden by the new 'Grater' development - but there they sit together in the one skyline . The city seems to accept that newcomers must have a place, and each holds their head up proudly. At least,that is how I see the city as we walk and see and be amazed at the old and the new
More soon

 Here are acouple of photos of my local patch here - the London Eye through the spring leaves taken in the Westminster gardens nearby, Embankment is the local Tube for us, the chairs are ready for the summer (and yes, they are all in rows).
The street scene is Oxford St at rush hour - 9.00 AM, and a sea of the familiar red buses.